Animal Species:Alison's Blue Devil, Paraplesiops alisonae

Alison's Blue Devil is a small spotted species that is only known from south-eastern Australian coastal waters.

The holotype of the species is housed in the Australian Museum Fish Collection (AMS I.19921–013).

Alison's Blue Devil in Port Phillip Bay

Alison's Blue Devil in Port Phillip Bay
Sascha Schulz © Sascha Schulz

Identification

Alison's Blue Devil is a small species that has blue spots on the head and blue stripes on the dorsal and anal fins.

Size range

Up to 15 cm (standard length)

Distribution

The species is endemic to Australia, occurring from the central coast of Victoria, Tasmania and west to eastern South Australia.

The map below shows the Australian distribution of the species based on public sightings and specimens in Australian Museums.  Source: Atlas of Living Australia.

Paraplesiops alisonae

Distribution by collection data

Ozcam map of Alison's Blue Devil specimens in the Australian Museums.

What does this mean?

Habitat

The species occurs on coastal reefs to about 35 m in depth.

Other behaviours and adaptations

It is a nocturnal species.

Classification

Species:
alisonae
Genus:
Paraplesiops
Family:
Plesiopidae
Order:
Perciformes
Class:
Actinopterygii
Phylum:
Chordata
Kingdom:
Animalia

What does this mean?

References

  1. Gomon, M.F., Bray, D. & R.H. Kuiter (Eds). 2008. The Fishes of Australia's Southern Coast. Reed New Holland. Pp. 928.


Mark McGrouther , Collection Manager, Ichthyology
Last Updated:

Tags Alison's Blue Devil, Paraplesiops alisonae, dots/spots, blue spots, blue stripes, stripes or bands, 10 cm - 30 cm, endemic to Australia, coastal reef, marine,